Attachment-plug receptacle.



H. HUBB-ELL. ATTACHMENT PLUG RECEPTACLE.

APPUCATION FILED JULY 23.19M-

Patented July 20, 1915.

WITNESSES:

A TTOR/VEV twic HARVEY HU BIBELL, F BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

ATTACHMENT-PLUG RECEPTACLE.

' To all whom it may concern in alinement with a diametric line.

Beitknownthat I, HARVEY HUBBELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, county of Fairfield," State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvement in Attachment-Plug Receptacles, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention is applicable to any of the various types of attachment plug receptacles and has for its object to adapt the receptacle to either of the types of standard plugs. in general use, that is plugs having knife blade contacts-lying parallel .with each other on opposite sides of a diametric line, and also plugs having knife blade coniigcts resumably the greater number of plugs now being manufactured have their knife blade contactsin what I. will term the parallel relation but there are hundreds of thousands of plugs in use havingtheir knife blade contacts in what I will term the alined relation. It is, therefore, extremely desirable to provide a receptacle which shall be simple and economical in -'construction, efli'cient, safe, and durable'and which shall be adapted to co-act equally well with either of the types of plugs referred to above. I have discovered that in these two types of plugs the space between the inner edges of the alined knife blade contacts in one type corresponds with the distance between the inner face of the parallel knife blade contacts in the other type.

-. My invention, therefore, consists in providing the covering blocks of attachment plug receptacles with T-shaped slots, the transverse portions of said slots lying parallel and being spaced apart to receive standard parallel knife blade contacts and .the longitudinal portions of said slots ex', tending in opposite directions and being adapted to receive standard alined knife blade'contacts, and in providing the receptacle with triple spring contact plates, each set of spring contact plates being-equally adapted to co-act with either type'of knife blade contacts.

In the accom anying drawing forming a part of this pecification, -Figure 1 is a planview. ofa well .known form of receptacle base ,with the covering block removed; Fig.2 an elevation of a receptacle and a plug having knife blade conwas in alined relation, partly in section on the line'indicatedby 22 in Fig. 1, looking Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 23, 1914. Serial a... 852,620.

Patented July 20, 1915.

in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 asection of the base and covering block on the of the receptacle complete; Fig. 5 a perspective view of a plug having knife blade contacts in parallel relation; Fig. 6 an elevation of a plug having knife blade contacts in alined relation; Figs. 7 and 9 perspective views of variant-forms of my novel triple spring contact plates, and Fig. 8 is a detail perspective'of one of the contact plates detached.

. 10 denotes the base, 11 the covering block and 12 the plug which may be provided with parallel knife blade contacts 13 as in Fig. 5 or with alined knife blade contacts 14: as in Fig. 6. The base, covering block and plug are ordinarily made of porcelain and may be of any ordinary or preferred design or configuration. Parallel knife blade contacts of standard construction may be provided with rounded heads 15 and on opposite sides below the heads with recesses 16, as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

Alined knife blade contacts of standard construction may be provided with beveled heads 17 and below the heads and facing each other with recesses 18, and the heads may or may not be provided with holes 19, as clearly shown in Fig. 6.-

In order to cooperate with either type of knife blade contactsI provide the covering block with T-shaped slots comprising transverse? portions 20 lying parallel with each other and adapted to receive parallel knife blade contacts and longitudinal portions 21 extendmg in opposite directions and adapted to receive alined knife blade. contacts. I

25 in order to insureperfect electrical con tact with the corresponding alined knife blade contact and if the heads of the alined knife blade-contacts are provided with holes 19, the bosses will register with and engage the holes. The recesses 18 in alined'knife blade contacts have no function in connection with-my present invention. They are merely provided in order to adapt the plugs to receptacles provided with the old style of spring contact plates. Spring contact plates 24 are provided on their opposite edges with bosses 26 which cooperate with the recesses ends of spring plates 24 are curved backward as at 35, and the contiguous end faces of spring plates 22 are chamfered off as at-36.

In the form illustrated in Fig. 9, sprlng contact plate 24 is provided with a foot 27 and spring contact plates 22 are formed from a strip of metal at the mid-length of which is a base 28 to "which the foot is riveted. It will be obvious, however, that when this form of triple contact plates is used in connection with parallel knife blade contacts, spring contact plate 24 must be depended on for most of the resilience. In order to provide resilient engagement upon both'sides of parallel knife blade contacts, my novel triple contact plates may be made if preferred .as shown in Fig. 7 which see in connection with Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The base 28 of spring plates 22 is provided with a lateral extension which extends outward and then is curved downward and inward forming a spring 29 the end of which is secured to a bracket 30 which is itself secured in a recess in thebase. The foot of spring plate 24 is secured 'to the free end of the spring and the spring is secured to the bracket by a single rivet, as at 31. I have also in this form shown spring plate 24 as provided with an outward curve 32 at the intersection of the plate with the foot, which adds to the resiliency of said plate. In this form the use of spring 29 insures equally resilient engagement with both sides of parallel knife blade contacts.

The operation will be obvious from the drawing and description and is not thought to require further explanation. Briefly, the covering block is secured to the base by a bolt 37 and the triple spring contact plates lie in recesses 33 in the covering block under and in alinement with the T-shaped slots. When a plug having parallel knife blade contacts is engaged with the receptacle the knife blade contacts are passed into and between the chamfered ends of spring contact plates 22 and spring contact plate 24, the bosses 26 on plate 24 cooperating with the recesses 16 in the knife blade contacts and insuring perfect electrical connection. When a plug having alined knife blade contacts is engaged withthe recepa tacle, the knife blade contacts are passed into the longitudinal portions 21 of the T- Y shaped slots and between the operative faces of spring contact plates 22, one of which .is preferably provided with a boss to insure perfect electrical connection.

.Having thus described my invention I claim:

1. In an. attachment plug receptacle, a covering block provided with T-shaped slots the transverse portions of which are parallei and are spaced apart to receive the knife blade contacts of standard plugs when placed parallel, and the longitudinal portions of which extend in oppositedirections and are adapted to receive the knife blade contacts of standard plugs when placed in alinement.

2. A covering block of the character described provided with T-shaped slots, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

3. In a structure of the character described, the combination with a base and a covering block having T-shaped slots, of triple spring contact plates comprising two plates placed opposite each other and adaptried and a spring plate lying at right angles to said other spring plates and adapted to coiiperate therewith.

5. In a structure of the character described, triple contact plates comprising spring plateshaving contiguous operative faces and chamfers on one side at their outer ends and a spring plate lying at right angles to said other spring plates and having its upper end curved backward to cooperate with the chamfers.

6." In a structure of the character described, triple contact 1 plates comprising spring plates having contiguous operative faces and chamfers on one side at their outer ends, a spring by which said plates are carried and a spring plate lying at right angles to saidother spring plates and having its upper end curved backward to cooperate with the chamfers. I transverse portions 20 of the T-shaped slots 7. In a structure of the character described, triple contact plates comprising spring plates having contiguous operative faces and a spring plate lying at right an gles to said other spring'plates and provided on. its opposite edges with bosses, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

8. In a structure of the character described, triple contact plates comprising spr ng plates having contiguous operative faces, a spring by which said plates are carried, and a spring plate lying at right angles to said other spring plates and provided on its opposite edges with bosses, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

9. In a structure of the character described, triple contact plates comprising spring plates having contiguous operative faces, the operative face of one of said plates being provided with a boss, a spring by which said plates are carried and a spring plate lying at right angles to said other spring plates and adapted 'to cooperate therewith. l

10. In a structure of'the character described, triple contact plates comprising spring plates having contiguous operative faces, the operative faceof one of said plates being provided with a boss, a spring by which said plates are carried and a spring plate lying at right angles to said other spring plates and having its opposite edges provided with bosses and its free end curved backward, substantially as, described, for the purpose specified. 11. In a structure of the character dedescribed, the combination with a base and contacts secured thereto, each contact comprising spring plates having operative faces facing each other and a spring plate lying at right angles to said other spring plates,

of a covering block having recesses to receive said contacts and T-shaped slots communicating with said recesses, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

12. In a structure of the character-described, the combination with a base and contacts secured thereto, each contact comprising spring plates having operative faces said contacts and T-shaped slots ,communi:

eating with said recesses.

13. In a structure of the character described, the combination with a base and contacts secured thereto, each contact comprising spring plates having operative faces facing each other, one of said faces being provided with a boss, a spring by which said plates are carried and a spring plate lying at right angles to said other spring plates and having its opposite edges provided with bosses, of a covering block having recesses to receive said contacts and T- shaped slots communicating with said recesses.

14. Ina structure of the character described, the combination with a base and contacts secured thereto, each contact comprising spring plates having operative faces facingeach other, and chalnfers on one side at their outer ends, and a spring plate lying at right angles to said other spring plates and having its opposite edges provided with bosses and its upper end curved backward to cooperate with the chamfers,'of a cover-' HARVEY ,HUBBELL.

signature Witnesses:

H. W. MEADE, E. M. CULVER. 

